Flushing mechanism



Mar. 27, 1923.

c. H. PHILLIPS.

FLUSHING MECHANISM.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1 FILED JULY 14. 1919.

Patented Mar. 27, 1923.

H E S T PATENT oFFic.

FLUSI-IING- MECHANISM.

Application filed July 1 1',

T 0 all to 710m 2'15 may concern Be it known that 1, CHARLES H. PHILLIPS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Maplewood, Ma-lden, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flushing Mechanism; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to flushing mechanism for water closets and more particularly to seat operated flushing mechanism.

The object of the invention is to reorganize and improve the construction of seat operated flushing mechanism and to this end the invention consists in the mechanism hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims. 7

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention. Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved flushing mechanism; Fig. 2, a plan of the valve and the rear portion of the seat; Fig. 3, a section on the line 3-3, Fig. 2; Fig. 1, a view of the flushing valve partly in elevation and partly in section; and Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are diagrammatic illustrations showing the relation between the operation of the flushing valve and the position of the rear end of the seat.

In general the improved flushing mechanism comprises a seat hinged at its rear end to the bowl in such a manner that its rear end is yieldingly maintained in a. slightly elevated position above the bowl and is therefore capable of movement toward and away from the bowl. A flushing valve controlling the admission of water to the bowl is connected with the rear of the seat so that the valve is operated by the movement of the seat toward and away from the bowl during the normal use of the closet. The seat possesses the appearance of and the general convenience of the ordinary water closet seat, and the flushing mechanism is adaptable to all types of water closet.

The flushing mechanism illustrated in the drawings is described as follows: A seat 10 of usual or preferred construction, is piv otally secured at its rear end 11 to the bowl 12 in such manner that the rear end 11 be- 1919. Serial No. 310,746.

sides being pivoted upon the bowl, is also movable toward and away from the bowl. For this purpose the rear end 11 of seat 10 18 provided with a bracket 13 secured thereto by screws 14. The bracket 13 has rearwardly extended pivot arms 15, embracing studs 16 extended outwardly from the slid mg sleeves 17 of two telescoping supports. The sleeves 17 are movable toward and away from the bowl 12 being arranged to telescope upon lower cylindrical members 20 which are firmly secured to the flanges 19 of the bowl 12 by bolts 21 and nuts 22. Rubber washers 28 are interposed between the upper and under surfaces of the flanges 19 and the bolts and nuts 21, 22. Coil springs 23 embrace the bolts 21, (the upper ends of the springs abutting against the heads of the sleeves 17,) and serve to maintain the sleeves 17, and the rear end 11 of the seat 10 in an elevated position a short distance away from the bowl 12. The heads 25 of screws 26 threaded into the upper ends of the bolts 21, limit the upward movement of the sleeves 17, and the latter are provided with holes in the upper ends thereof through which the bolts 21 are extended so that when the sleeves 17 are moved downwardly or toward the bowl, the sleeves 17 are guided in their movements by contact with the lateral surfaces of the bolts 21 and are further guided by the machined internal surfaces 27 which bear against the external surfaces of the lower members 20. From the above de tailed description of the construction it is apparent that the rear end 11 of the seat 10 is yieldingly maintained in an elevated position a short distance above the bowl 12, and is adapted to be moved downwardly whenever weight is applied to the seat, and to be returned to its elevated position when the weight is removed. It will also be noted that because the distance at which the rear of the seat is elevated is relatively short com- ,pared to the length of the seat, that the latter, when in an operative position, is substantially or nearly horizontal thus making its use convenient.

In order to utiliz the movement of the rear end of the seat in performing the flushing operation, I prefer to employ a flushing valve of the construction illustrated in Fig. 4 and having a mode of operation illustrated diagrammatically in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. Referring particularly to Fig. 4, the

construction and operation of the illustrated embodiment of the flushing valve is described as follows: The flushing valve comprises a casing 30 of general cylindrical form provided with the inlet 31 and outlet 32. The passage of water from the inlet to the outlet is controlled. by a main valve 33 which is freely movable in a main valve chamber 34:. The movements of the main valve 33 in said chamber are controlled by an operating valve 35 located at the lower end of a by-pass 36 connecting the top portion of the main valve chamber with the outlet. An inlet by-pass 37 extends from the inlet to the top of the main valve chamher and is provided with a ball valve 38 adapted to restrict the flow of water from th inlet to the top of the main, valve chamber. When the operating valve 35 is opened the eitective pressure upon the top side of the main valve is decreased whereby the main valve is forced to rise in the main valve chamber by the pressure of the wateg on the under side thereof, thus permitting mitted to the lever 54 of the flushing valve to cause the operation of the same through the rod 64-, and link 60.

When the flushing operation is started, the main valve 33 carries the pin upwardly out of engagement with the stem 39 of the operating valve 35. The deviation of the flushing operation depends solely on the rate of flow of the water through the inlet by-pass 37. When the main valve is closed and before the closet is used, the pin 40 extends partly into the interior of the main valve 33 and the lower end of the pin is supported by the operating valve 35 upon which it is held by the eye 51 as is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 5. When the rear end of the seat is lowered, the eye 51 is rocked toward the other side of the flushing valve thus permitting the swivel pin 4:0 to drop down beyond the end of the stem 39 of the operating valve 35 into the position shown in Fig. 6. It is to Jte noted that so long as the seat is held down the main valve is held closed and that water to flow directly from the inlet to .thei the flushing operation is not initiated.

outlet. Conversely when the operating valve is closed, the water pressure above the main. valve gradually increases, operating to close the main valve and stop the flushing operation after a predetermined time.

The interior of the main valve is hollow and a headed pin 40 is supported by a nut 41 screwed on to the bottom portion of the main valve so that the head 42 of the pin pivotally supports the pin and at the same time permits the pin to be freely movable up into the interior of the main valve. This is a feature of the operation of the valve in connection with the present type of flushing mechanism as will be described. The pin 40 is moved into engagement with the stem 39 of the operating valve under certain conditions of operation by a tapered eye 51 carried by and extended downwardly from an operating shaft (not shown) which extends laterally through the wall of the casing and upon which an operating lever 54 is secured. The operating lever 541 is connected with the rear of the seat in the following manner: The free end of the lever 54 is forked and pivotally secured to the upper end of a link by a bolt 61 and nut 62. The lower end of the link 60 is provided with a sleeve 63 integral therewith through which the rod 64 passes, the ends of the rod 64 pass through brackets 65 ex tended rearwardly from the sleeve 17 and the withdrawal of the rod 64 from the brackets 65 is prevented by opposing heads 66, one of which is formed integrally upon the rod 64 and the other constitutes the head of a bolt threaded into the end of the rod 64. The downward and upward movements of the rear end 11 of the seat 10 are trans- When the seat is permitted to rise, the eye 51 is rocked back again into its initial position thereby forcing the tapered pin 10 against the, stem 39 of the operating valve 35, opening the valve and initiating the flushing operation, as is illustrated in Fig. 7.

From a consideration of Figs. 5, 6 and 7 it will be apparent that the operation of the flushing mechanism occurs in three steps, first, the downward movement of the seat causes the pin 40 to drop from the position illustrated in Fig. 5 to the position indicated in Fig. 6; second, the actuation of the operating valve 35 and the start of the flushing operation when the seat is raised again; and third, the completion of the flushing operation whereupon the main valve is closed and the pin 40 assumes its initial position shown in Fig. 5.

While the specific form of flushing valve described is adapted for use in the mechanism of this invention, other valves having provision for operating to prepare the valve for flushing when the seat is first moved and to cause the flushing when it is moved back are within the purview of the invention, vie-wed in certain aspects.

What is claimed is:

1. A flushing mechanism for water closets having, in combination, a bowl, a flushing valve mounted on the rear of the bowl for controlling the flushing operation, a seat, two telescoping supports mounted on the rear of the top of the bowl, provided with movable members to which the rear end of the seat is pivotally secured, springs within said supports for yieldingly maintaining the rear end of the seat raised a short distance from the bowl, and connections between the movable members and the flushing valve said connections and flushing valve having provision whereby the initiation of the operation of the flushing valve is deferred until the seat returns to its normally raised position.

2. A flushing mechanism for Water closets having, in combination, a flushing valve mounted on the rear of the bowl having an operating arm, a seat, two telescoping supports mounted on opposite sides of the rear of the bowl adapted to permit movement of the rear of the seat about the front of the seat as pivot, a rod connecting said supports adapted to move therewith, and a link adjustably connecting said rod and the operating arm of the flushing valve.

3. A flushing mechanism for water closets having, in combination, a flushing valve mounted on the rear end of the bowl, a seat, two bolts supported on the bowl, cylindrical members secured to the bowl and held thereto by the bolts, sleeves slidably mounted on the cylindrical members, springs surrounding the bolt and located inside the cylindrical members and sleeves acting normally to hold the sleeves up, said seat being supported by the sleeves to permit movement of the rear of the seat about the front of the seat as a pivot, and connections between the sleeves and the valve.

4. A flushing mechanism having, in combination, a flushing valve mounted on the rear of the bowl, a seat, and connections between the seat and valve having provision for operation by the rising and fallingof the rear end of the seat, and bolts secured to the bowl at the rear of the seat for guiding the movements of the rear end of the seat.

CHARLES H. PHILLIPS. 

